Psalm 112 Overview
The one who fears YHWH
Psalm 112
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 112
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 112 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 112
Author:
Purpose:
- To celebrate the one who fears YHWH
Content:
- Happy is the one who fears YHWH! He will be blessed, and he will be a blessing to others.
Message:
- The one who fears YHWH becomes like YHWH, blessing those around him.
Psalm 112 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 112
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- YHWH made a covenant with David, promising to give him an eternal dynasty and requiring that his descendants keep his commands (cf. 2 Sam. 7; 1 Kgs. 2:1–4; Ps. 89).
- The ideal king is supposed to read the Law daily so that he learns to fear YHWH and keep his commandments (cf. Deut. 17:18-19; 1 Kgs. 2:1–4).
- The king is responsible for establishing and maintaining justice in the kingdom.
- "When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light" (2 Sam. 23:3–4, ESV).
Background Situation for Psalm 112
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 112
Participant Set List
There are four participants/characters in Psalm 112:
| Leader |
| "The man who fears YHWH" (v. 1) |
| "A light" (v. 4) |
| "Righteous one" (v. 6) |
| Offspring |
| "A generation of upright people" (v. 2) |
| YHWH |
| "Yah" (v. 1) |
| Upright Ones |
| "The poor" (v. 9) |
| Wicked |
| "Adversaries" (v. 8) |
- Leader: The "man who fears YHWH" (v. 1), also referred to as the "righteous one" (v. 6b) and depicted as "a (source of) light" (v. 4a), is probably a king (see discussion here). The description of this man in Ps. 112 closely parallels the description of YHWH in Ps. 111.
- Upright Ones: The upright (v. 4a) are those who live their lives in accordance with YHWH's law. Also known as "the poor" (v. 9a), they are those who lack life's basic necessities and are therefore financially dependent upon others, including especially YHWH (cf. SDBH). Because poverty leads to dependence on YHWH, poverty and uprightness are, in the Biblical world, closely related realities (cf. Ps. 37:14). In Psalm 112, both the upright are the beneficiaries of the man's justice and generosity.
- Wicked: The wicked (v. 10) are those who do not live according to YHWH's law (cf. SDBH). Instead of serving YHWH, they serve their desires (v. 10c), which, under the reign of the man who fears YHWH, will come to an end. The man's adversaries (v. 8b) are probably a foreign power that represents a military threat (see Story behind). In the psalm, both the wicked and the adversaries play a similar role—they both express hostility towards the man—and so they are grouped together here.